Junior: Believe me, there's plenty I'd like to forget.
Tony: Yeah, you and me both.
In New York, conflict continues to simmer between Johnny Sack and Little Carmine's factions. Shylock Lorraine Calluzzo, who kicks up to Little Carmine, is confronted by Phil Leotardo (acting as an enforcer for Johnny) while out collecting debts. Phil has his subordinates tie down a pleading Lorraine and her boyfriend Jason Evanina then attempts to shoot Lorraine through a phone book. The bullet fails to pass completely through the book. Phil lets her go for now, but warns her that she won't be so lucky next time. Later, Lorraine and Angelo Garepe sit down with Tony and Junior Soprano, discussing how to handle the Johnny Sack situation. Tony recommends a "triumvirate", with both Johnny and Little Carmine acting as boss along with Angelo as a third head. Angelo is reluctant, as he hoped to enjoy a peaceful retirement after leaving prison. Junior, meanwhile, is quiet and moody throughout the sit-down, offering little of value.
Junior's mental state is shown to be deteriorating. Seeing an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm on television, he confuses Larry David and Jeff Garlin for himself and Bobby Baccala, respectively. Later, at a family dinner with Tony, Janice, Barbara, and their families, Junior repeatedly references that Tony "never had the makings of a varsity athlete", upsetting Tony and seemingly ignoring his reaction. Tony storms out just as Barbara and Tom arrive, with Junior unfazed by the encounter.
While visiting his aunt, Paulie learns that her gardener, Sal Vitro, was attacked and crippled, with a new gardener taking over the routes shortly thereafter. Learning that the new gardener is named "Gary La Manna", Paulie meets with Sal and offers to take care of the situation for a price. Paulie confronts Feech at his bakery, demanding that he give Sal his routes back. Feech bristles and immediately shouts Paulie down, screaming at him that he has no claim to the territory since Sal isn't family. Paulie retreats.
Tony meets with Johnny Sack to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Lupertazzi family. Johnny is in a foul mood and shows nothing but contempt for his opponents, viewing Little Carmine as a spoiled idiot and Lorraine Calluzzo as a whore. When Tony briefly broaches the possibility of a power triumvirate, Johnny bristles and Tony quickly lies that it was Angelo Garepe's idea. Johnny turns on Tony, blaming him for empowering Little Carmine by involving him in the spat between New York and Jersey a year ago. They leave the meeting on a bitter note.
Bobby meets with Tony and unsuccessfully broaches the subject of taking on different responsibilities instead of acting as a caretaker for Uncle Junior. Bobby later arrives at Junior's house and finds that Junior has disappeared. He calls Janice, distraught and unsure how to handle the situation. Meanwhile, Junior has gone to Newark in search of his dead brother Johnny during an episode of severe dementia. He walks into a building where he and Johnny used to operate, now occupied by a black after-school program. Upon being escorted out of the building, Junior finds his car stolen and wanders off on foot. He is transfixed by the sight of a soda bottle-shaped billboard from behind, and approached by a homeless crack whore, resulting in a confusing encounter in which Junior mistakes her for a woman he once had relations with, then becomes frightened and leaves, stammering that he has to "go home".
Junior briefly leans over the side of a bridge, apparently contemplating suicide, then continues walking aimlessly until he is spotted by police who take him home and scoff when he claims to be Corrado Soprano. The cops return him to Janice and Bobby, then ask to see his wallet and are surprised to find out he is who he claimed to be. Janice and Bobby later inform Tony of Junior's worsening condition, but Tony is dismissive as he's still bitter about the varsity athlete comments. This leads to a heated confrontation between Tony and Janice, in which Tony provokes Janice into attacking him and orders Bobby to control his wife before he can hope to take on any new responsibilities as an earner.
Paulie finds Gary La Manna landscaping in his aunt's neighborhood and attacks him and his assistant Jimmy, knocking Gary out of a tree and hitting Jimmy in the head with a shovel. With both gardeners now severely injured, Paulie and Feech sit down with Tony, who resolves to split the neighborhood 50/50 between Sal and Gary. Tony also requests that Sal landscape his own home for free, as well as Johnny Sack's as a goodwill gesture to thaw the tensions between them. Paulie gives this information to Sal, who is disappointed but has no choice.
Tony runs into Junior's neurologist at a golf course, and when asked about Junior, Tony writes him off as a prick. The neurologist explains that irregular moods could be a symptom of Junior's dementia resulting from infarcts. Tony has a change of heart and visits Junior, briefly learning that Feech was there earlier complaining about Tony's ruling on the Sal Vitro situation. Tony sits with Junior watching television and broaches the subject of the infarcts, but asks why Junior only repeats negative things instead of something nice. When Tony asks if Junior loves him, Junior begins to tear up but doesn't respond.
Tropes
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Phil is quite amused by Lorraine's offer of blow jobs.
- A.J. smirks when he hears that Bobby Jr. has been wetting his bed.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Lorraine offers to blow the Leotardo brothers and Joey Peeps when she thinks they're about to kill her.
- Ambiguous Situation: Dr. Harry Winer explains to Tony that Uncle Junior may have suffered mini-strokes, termed "infarcts" after he took a Tap on the Head from falling down the stairs at his trial. Tony initially writes off Junior as a Jerkass, but then begins to wonder if Junior was forgetting he had already made the "varsity athlete" crack minutes before repeating it.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Tony when he asks Uncle Junior: "I mean, don't you love me?" It takes some effort on Junior's part to hold back Manly Tears.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Now that Uncle Junior is back home, Bobby expresses to Tony S the desire to get out there and earn. He's going to learn the hard way that there are drawbacks and multiple times.
- Berserk Button: Tony really doesn't like Uncle Junior reminding him that he "never had the makings of a varsity athlete".
- Blame Game: Johnny Sack blames Tony for the Enemy Civil War by not participating in the hit on Carmine Sr. and reaching out to (and thereby legitimizing) Little Carmine.
- Blank Stare: Angelo and Lorraine stare in disbelief the first time Uncle Junior uses his "never had the makings of a varsity athlete" gag. The looks betray they think he's gone full Cloud Cuckoolander.
- Blatant Lies:
- According to Paulie, Gary didn't fall off the tree, he made an aerial attack on Paulie brandishing a chainsaw leaping from the tree.
- Tony tells Johnny Sack that the power-sharing arrangement was Angelo's idea. Tony actually brought it up, and Angelo hesitated because he just wanted to enjoy quiet retirement.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Bobby Jr. towards Janice.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Both Tony and Janice have legitimate arguments when they lay into each other.
- It was convenient for Janice to run off to Seattle and become a Granola Girl, and come back only when Livia's passing and her estate becoming available is suddenly on the horizon.
- Even if Tony has beef with Uncle Junior, he can still at least make some kind of provision for Junior's care.
- Butt-Monkey: The gardeners, who all get caught in between rival mobsters. But especially Sal, who in addition to his getting a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from Feech, is effectively Made a Slave for Tony S' and Johnny Sack's yards.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Feech, while beating the absolute shit out of Sal.
- Continuity Nod:
- In the pilot episode, when Tony describes Uncle Junior to Dr. Melfi, he says his uncle embarrassed him by telling all his girl cousins he didn't have the makings of a varsity athlete. Junior greatly annoys Tony by repeating this once again to the Sunday dinner guests in this episode.
- The audiobook that Paulie listens to in his car is The Art of War (Sun Tzu). Paulie's curiosity about Sun Tzu was brought up in the previous episode.
- When Adriana asks Agent Sanseverino how much longer she has to give her information, she mentions it took the RICO case of Joe Massino seven years to build.
- Janice knows exactly where Uncle Junior's wallet is, a nod to when Uncle Junior let on to Richie that he suspected Janice of stealing from his wallet when she was a little girl.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Both Feech and Paulie start off the lawn gardening dispute in the way they know best, by laying out beatdowns on the gardeners caught in the middle of the dispute.
- Enemy Civil War: Phil's mock execution of Lorraine signals that the war has already started for the Lupertazzi family, with each side staking claims to the upstairs kicks from the earners.
- Establishing Character Moment: Phil's attempted execution of Lorraine sets out that he lives for cruelty and violence.
- Everyone Is Related: Adriana tries to explain to Agent Sanseverino how Tony and Chris are actually cousins a couple of different ways before giving up and just hand-waving it as "an Italian thing".
- Evil Is Petty:
- Uncle Junior's preoccupation with Tony S "never having the makings of a varsity athlete" reflects years of resentment and spite built towards Tony.
- Tony refuses to help look for Junior because of an insult.
- Evil Mentor: Feech tries to be as much to Tony B, possibly hoping to gain somebody vulnerable as an ally against Tony S. But Tony B isn't very receptive.
- Groin Attack: How Feech leads off his beatdown on Sal.
- Ham-to-Ham Combat: Paulie vs. Feech, with plenty of FBombs thrown in.
- Hates Small Talk: Tony cuts off Angelo before he can get much further into talking about his grandkid, and focuses the discussion on the business at hand.
- Henpecked Husband: How Tony sees Bobby, although the audience sees in this episode that Bobby can assert himself against Janice when he feels he has to.
- History Repeats: Tony feels that Uncle Junior, with his 'varsity athlete' comments, has taken over the Abusive Parental figure role from Livia. Rule of Symbolism from the documentary on Prairie Dogs likens it to an actual "Groundhog Day" Loop.
- Hypocrite:
- Johnny Sack lets on that he ordered Phil to perform the mock execution on Lorraine because of her tendency to always think that Murder Is the Best Solution. And yet that's exactly the route Johnny is taking in his power grab against Little Carmine.
- Tony S makes a big deal about being hurt by Uncle Junior's "varsity athlete" comments, and yet he doesn't mind mocking Janice over the taste of her "medley of pastas".
- I Control My Minions Through...: Johnny Sack takes the fear angle in this trope to try and force the New York earners to get on his side instead of Little Carmines. It's made more effective in the short term when you have Phil as your Dragon.
- I Warned You: Phil to Lorraine, "Next time, there won't be a next time."
- Irony, with some Book Dumb mixed in: Paulie has for the past while now been making a big deal about absorbing pearls of wisdom from Sun Tzu (whom he calls "Sun Tuzu"). He's shown driving to an audio recording of Tzu's teachings, nodding his head with an appreciative meditative look as the words "He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight" play out. The moment he sees Gary and the other La Manna gardener in what he considers Sal Vitro's territory? He pulls up, lays a Shovel Strike on the other gardener's head, and forces Gary into Not the Fall That Kills You…. And it doesn't even remotely occur to him that those actions were cautioned against by the words of Sun Tzu that he had heard just moments beforehand.
- It's All About Me:
- Janice finds it inconvenient to have to watch Junior's place while Bobby goes to look for him. Bobby calls her on it.
- Janice and Tony get into a heated argument where they accused each other of multiple instances of selfishness.
- Jerkass: Uncle Junior's Running Gag of how Tony S "never had the makings of a varsity athlete" is an intentional effort to get underneath Tony's skin to the maximum degree possible....or not.
- Kick the Dog: Phil and his crew, when they pull a mock execution on Lorraine.
- Knows a Guy Who Knows a Guy: An unusual example where it's Tony S who's asked to be the connector to Johnny Sack, instead of previous examples where Tony tried to access somebody else through a chain of connections.
- Lazy Bum: Tony isn't quite comfortable with letting Bobby in on more of the action, thinking it'll turn Bobby into a Fish out of Water. So he tries to get around it by trying to get Janice to bring in some earnings herself into Bobby's household. But given that this is Janice we're talking about ...
- Loan Shark: Lorraine Calluzzo, although her onscreen effort gets interrupted.
- Made a Slave: Sal Vitro to a degree. Like it wasn't bad enough that Feech beat the shit out of him and broke his arm, now he has to do Tony S' and Johnny Sack's grass free of charge.
- A Man Is Always Eager: The look Joey gives Phil suggests he's actually seeking permission to take up Lorraine on her offer of a blow job.
- The Millstone: Tony specifically instructs Chris not to say anything at all during a sensitive contract negotiation with Johnny Sack. It isn't hard to guess what Chris actually does during the meeting itself.
- Mr. Exposition: Dr. Harry Winer makes an appearance to explicitly connect Uncle Junior becoming a Scatterbrained Senior to the Tap on the Head he got during his trial.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Johnny lets on that he didn't mind having Phil shakedown Lorraine on the rationale that she always went with homicidal solutions to problems instead of reasonable alternatives. In other words, he sees it as her getting some deserved Laser-Guided Karma.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Feech on Sal.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Paulie gives Jimmy a Shovel Strike over the head, Jimmy loses hold of the rope, and then Gary falls hard on the sidewalk from the tree.
- Pet the Dog: Tony does this by inviting Artie to live with him.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Lorraine is perfectly willing to use the N-word.
- Recognition Failure: The cops that stumble upon Uncle Junior are amused when the Scatter Brained Senior wandering lost before them claims to be the infamous Corrado Soprano. Turns out he got at least that part right.
- The Resenter: Uncle Junior has a pretty sensitive reaction when Lorraine lets on her mistaken perception that there are two bosses in Jersey.
- Rule of Symbolism: Uncle Junior is fascinated with a documentary on prairie dogs while Tony is trying to have a discussion with him about the 'varsity athlete' comments. The scene is meant to suggest that Uncle Junior taking over the Abusive Parental figure role from Livia is not just an example of History Repeats, but that it may be locking Tony into a kind of "Groundhog Day" Loop.
- Running Gag: Uncle Junior and "never had the makings of a varsity athlete".
- Scatterbrained Senior: Any doubts that Uncle Junior is becoming one get removed in this episode.
- Shame If Something Happened: Lorraine forces the bartender to pay the full amount owing by emphasizing that just because she happens to be a female Mafiosi it doesn't mean her implied threats should be taken any less seriously.
- Shovel Strike: Paulie gives Jimmy one.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Johnny Sack thinks Chris should still be waiting outside in the car instead of at the table.
- Suddenly Shouting:
- How Johnny Sack reacts to Tony's attempts to broker the power-sharing agreement.
"What is this, THE FUCKING U.N. NOW?!?"- And again when Chris offers him unwanted advice.
- Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: The first distinct clue that Uncle Junior really is becoming a Scatter Brained Senior is when he watches an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's convinced that he himself is on television when it's really Larry David, and that the large man next to him is Bobby.
- Ungrateful Bastard:
- How Johnny Sack feels about Little Carmine after having done several favors for him.
- Uncle Junior says "Go shit in your hat" to the cops that brought him home.
- Unwanted Assistance: To say that Johnny Sack didn't appreciate the unsolicited advice from Chris would be an understatement. And Tony had expressly forbidden Chris from trying beforehand.
- Useful Book: Phil uses a phone book in between his gun and Lorraine to avoid killing her. For now ...
- Voice of Reason: Tony tries to broker an end to the Enemy Civil War by suggesting the power-sharing arrangement. But Johnny Sack will have none of it.
- We Can Rule Together: Tony tries to win Johnny Sack over to share decision-making power with Angelo and Little Carmine. But Johnny wants the throne all to himself.
- We Wait: Tony wants nothing more than for the Jersey mob to stay out of the Lupertazzi family's Succession Crisis, if for no reason other than to minimize any damage to the Jersey family itself. But he also cites to Chris the potential benefits of staying out of it. The New York family may end up weakening itself through its own Enemy Civil War, and the Jersey mob will be in a better position to 'pick up the crumbs'.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: In the final scene, Tony demands to know why Junior won't say nice things about him and tell Tony he loves him.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Tony B gives one to Feech for beating the shit out of Sal.
- Bobby to Janice when she can't be bothered to watch Junior's place after Junior has gone missing.
- Would Hit a Girl: Phil begins his mock execution of Lorraine by giving her a Bitch Slap.
- You Are What You Hate: Janice takes noticeable steps towards becoming just like Livia. She moans about how nobody appreciates the effort she puts into housework, cooking, and watching the kids. Her taking the chocolate milk away from Bobby Jr. and dumping it down the sink deliberately invokes Tony's flashbacks of how Livia treated him when he was a kid.
- You're Not My Father: Tony could not care less when Bobby tells him that Uncle Junior has wandered off and gone missing.
